Dr Lewis is interested in what the historian Bob Stern has called ‘alternative modernities’: The many different ideas about what modern architecture could look like that circulated in the first decades of the 20th century. This has led to a fascination with the Gothic Revival, whose concepts continue to influence British architecture to the present day. A major project has been the study of the work of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Britain’s most influential architect of the interwar period. Designer of Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, the House of Commons Chamber, and the red telephone box, his designs shaped modern London and had resounding global impact during the decades when modern architecture as we know it was forged. Scott’s work was omitted from standard architectural histories of 20th century architecture because it was not Modernist with a capital M. The historian Alan Powers has called him ‘one of the great mysteries of English culture’. Yet Scott was the most lauded architect of the interwar period, the youngest Royal Academician since Turner, knighted at 44, President of RIBA and the AA. Understanding his work gives insight into the architecture of an understudied era and into the development of the modern building world. His career is especially fascinating because he was active as an architect from 1902-1960, thus witnessing tremendous architectural change. It provides insight into why certain ideas about modern architecture became dominant and why others died out.
If Scott was the sunset of the Gothic Revival, then A.W.N. Pugin was the sunrise, and Dr Lewis was previously editor of True Principles, a journal of Pugin and Gothic Revival studies. He was commissioned by Historic England and the Victorian Society, to produce a short book on the architectural works of A.W.N. Pugin, which was published as part of a series on Victorian architects. It was Country Life book of the week. He is the author of peer-reviewed academic journal articles and book chapters, on topics ranging from J.M. Barrie’s architectural patronage to the early Stanford University campus to multi-culturalism in the American Gothic Revival. He has written book and exhibition reviews for publications ranging from The L.A. Review of Books to the Korean magazine Space.
